The affordable homes programme aims to deliver 170,000 homes by March 2015 but the concept behind the programme, with its lower grant rate and higher rents, raised concerns for many landlords, and especially those operating in London and the south east.

We were worried about whom local authorities would nominate, and whether they'd be able to afford the rent. We doubted we'd be able to provide family homes in expensive areas. We wondered where the subsidy would come from and whether local authorities would play ball with central government policy, allowing higher rents in their areas to fund new builds elsewhere.

In addition, how would we work up new tenancy strategies with local authorities when they have a whole host of other things competing for their time and attention? Could we sign up to, and deliver this programme, with astrict deadline and no real understanding of what happens to capital funding after 2015, or how welfare reform will impact on us?

Many boards up and down the country weighed up the consequences carefully. After much deliberation, contracts for the programme were signed, most with housing associations.

After a slow start the reliable housing association machine started to deliver, and the challenges laid out at the beginning were slowly resolved. It would be tough and some different challenges presented themselves, but with energy and commitment we could deliver the target numbers.

The inevitable fall in affordable housing activity after a year of uncertainty had a much bigger impact on the economy than some in government realised. The recent contraction in GDP was largely accounted for by the 4.8% fall in construction output and much of that decline was down to the drop in affordable housing.

After the panic, the answer came in the recent stimulus package announced by David Cameron. The question now is: can government guarantees, the extra £300m in capital funding for affordable homes, the changes in planning and the release of public land give us a better answer than the original affordable homes programme?

In order to deliver this time, we will need more flexibility in our programmes, no strict deadlines, some creative work and thinking on local authority and public sector land and, most of all, more simplicity.

Housing associations can rise to the challenge again. We can use this stimulus to deliver more homes but we do best with simple rules, rather than weighty bureaucracy.

The question for boards up and down the country will be: should associations become more diverse organisations, undertaking market rent or market sale for example, to deliver more homes, or is affordable housing the answer to the current housing crisis?

Housing construction aids growth and more homes are needed across all tenures, and truly affordable homes are required to keep our economy growing. Housing associations are part of the answer; we can play our part across tenures but our mission must be clear, and the role we take will depend on what that is and where we operate.

Geeta Nanda is chief executive of Thames Valley Housing. She will speak at the National Housing Federation conference in Birmingham this week

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